The Latest from Iran (20 June): Remembering the Protests and the Dead

2000 GMT: Soroush and Khamenei. The website of Abdulkarim Soroush, one of Iran's most prominent intellectuals --- now living in exile --- has published the English translation of Soroush's letter to the Supreme Leader, "Flagging Oratory (and Mind?)".

1950 GMT: Limiting the Remembrance. Pictures and video show a heavy security presence in Tehran's Vanak Square:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6KAX0Oj5oo[/youtube]

NEW Iran Document: Karroubi Takes on the Supreme Leader (20 June)
NEW Iran Special: Legal Analysis of Post-Election Violations of Rights (Shadi Sadr)
NEW Iran Video, One Year On: The “Neda” Documentaries
Iran: Working Together? The Women’s Movement & The Greens (Kakaee)
Iran Analysis: Why the 2009 Election is Not Legitimate (Ansari)
The Latest from Iran (19 June): How Does Mahmoud Respond?

1645 GMT: The Karroubi Statement. We've posted lengthy extracts in a separate entry --- with its apparent challenge to the powers of the Supreme Leader, is this a significant step forward for the cleric?

1620 GMT: The Threat to the Reformists. The Islamic Iran Participation Front, responding to the declaration of the Tehran Prosecutor General that the party would be banned and might be broken up, said  Abbas Jafari Doulatabi's remarks were "private and without legal value".

1610 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. Former President Hashemi Rafsanjani has reportedly declared that he would like to retire, but were he to step down from positions such as head of the Expediency Council, there would be "grave political consequences".

1445 GMT: Today's Hijab Discussion. Member of Parliament Reza Akrami has declared that the President "should ask himself why he protests" against enforcement of the law on hijab.

Ahmadinejad spokesman Ali Akbar Javanfekr did a bit of "don't look at us", saying that the Government is not responsible for the crackdown on "bad hijab" because the security forces are not controlled by the Minister of the Interior.

1250 GMT: One Year Ago. Setareh Sabety reminds us of the words she posted, on the morning of 25 Khordaad (20 June) 2009:

I pray, even though an atheist, I pray that today this all important day, courage and justice is triumphant and that there will be no blood shed. I pray that no mother has to hear bad news, no woman is martyred and no young man beaten or arrested. I pray that these people whom I love, who are risking their lives with incredible courage for me and you, are not harmed and that their silent, persistent message of the basic need for freedom and democracy wins the day.

1245 GMT: The Reformist Challenge. The message from member of Parliament Mohammad Reza Tabesh to the Government is  direct and to the point: "Stop these radical behaviours."

1200 GMT: Cyber-Shutdown. Parleman News reports Persianblog, Iranicloob, and Blogfa have now been filtered.

1155 GMT: We've posted a special feature, Shadi Sadr's legal analysis of the post-election violation of rights by Iranian authorities.

1055 GMT: Documenting "Neda". Iranian state television has broadcast the "real" story of the killing of Neda Agha Soltan, "Crossroades". It features Abbas Javid Kargar, the Basij militiaman accused of the murder, who claims he was unarmed on that day and played no role in her death.

So who did it? The documentary implies that the "terrorist" Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MKO) was responsible.

Arash Hejazi, the doctor who tried to save Neda's life, has posted his response to the documentary's claims.

And we've re-posted two other documentaries on "Neda" and post-election events, the BBC/PBS/Tehran Bureau production, "An Iranian Martyr", and HBO's "For Neda".

1045 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Peyke Iran claims that activists and students have been detained in Hormozogan Province.

RAHANA reports that eight students have been arrested in Shiraz on charges of "propaganda against the Prophet".

0925 GMT: Political Prisoners and the Labour Front.

The International Transport Workers Federation has denounced the further arrests of members of Sandikaye Kargarane Sherkate Vahed, the Tehran bus workers’ union in Iran.

Saeed Torabian and Reza Shahbi were arrested in June by Iranian security forces and are being held at an unknown location. They join Mansour Osanloo and Ebrahim Madadi, both in prison since 2007, in detention.

In a letter to President Ahmadinejad, ITWF General Secretary David Cockroft said: “We once again reiterate that the carrying out of normal trade union duties is not an arrestable offence and should never be the grounds for the detention of Saeed Torabian, of Mansour Osanloo, or anyone else. We therefore request that you once again intervene in this process, remedy this situation, and also assure the good health and safety of Mansour Osanloo, who remains unjustly imprisoned.”

Human Rights Activists News Agency reports that workers at the Zhaveh reservoir dam in the Kurdish Kamyaran region have gone on strike over non-payment of seven months of back wages, workers yearly bonuses, overtime wages, and dues.

0810 GMT: The Clerics Fight Back? Ayatollah Bayat Zanjani has said that the distance between religion and revolutionary principles is the reason for the weakness of Iran's judiciary.

The more intriguing report, however, is in Rah-e-Sabz. The website claims that Hashemi Rafsanjani, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi, Mohammad Khatami, and Hassan Khomeini have all been on the telephone with Grand Ayatollah Sanei: these attacks were not a rebellion of unorganised people but a planned assault.

0800 GMT: The Battle Within (cont.). The latest jab of Keyhan, the "hard-line" newspaper, at the Government is a query about Ahmadinejad's chief aide Esfandiar Rahim-Mashai: why did he, in one of his many offices, give money to a rich artist?

0720 GMT: The Battle Within. The opposition's commemorations and the execution of "terrorists" has not entirely taken the headline heat off the President. Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei, the spokesman for the Guardian Council, has told Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that he cannot interfere in the affairs of other regime institutions.

0630 GMT: Remembering 25 Khordaad. Zahra Rahnavard has issued a statement reflecting on the protests of 20 June 2009:

"Today the Green Movement owes its place to the resistance of women, who along with their spouses and children, and as a group of leaders on the front lines have had a unique presence. The movement should realize that achieving freedom and democracy without the presence of noble women and without considering and implementation of the demands to eliminate discrimination and violence that women have always asked will not be possible.”

0625 GMT: Karroubi on the Vote and the Supreme Leader. Saham News, the website of Mehdi Karroubi, has published the cleric's  latest statement. Karroubi opens:

One year after the 10th Presidential election, considering what they did with your votes and the blood that was shed for regaining your rights, once again firmly and honestly, I declare that I am standing on my promise with you to the end of this path and I am ready to debate with anyone who would represent the ruling powers.
The vote that they stole from you and the right that was brutally denied from you is a shame that cannot be covered in anyway. Such that after one year despite all the pressure and intimidations not only your rightful demands have not been forgotten but also this seek for change has penetrated in various layers of the society based on an extensive social network and this social extent is not something that can be eliminated by repressions, intimidations, arrests and staged trials.

This declaration of defiance from 12 June 2009 to the present is followed by thoughts about the recent pro-regime attacks on senior clerics, used by Karroubi to consider "the powers of the Supreme Leader". In other words --- if I'm reading this right --- if Ayatollah Khameni is the ultimate defender of the Islamic Republic, why is he not defending its leading religious figures and its people?

0600 GMT: Today is likely to be dominated by remembrance of last year's mass demonstration, eight days after the Presidential election and a day after the Supreme Leader tried to close off debate, and those who died.

For many, Neda Agha Soltan, the 26-year-0ld woman killed by a Basij militia gunshot, became the symbol of tragedy and hope, and outside Iran, her name remains a beacon. (The #4Neda hashtag may be one of the most prominent on Twitter today.)

Inside Iran, however, there will be memorials for all those killed on 20 June and in the days after the election. It is reported that four Tehran universities are holding services, and there is chatter of events across the country.

The Iranian Government, however, has made a late bid to take over the headlines by adding another death: this morning it executed Abdolmalek Rigi, the leader of the Baluch insurgent Jundullah organisation.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi0IMc1uXMY&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

The Latest from Iran (13 June): And So It Goes On....

2130 GMT: We close the night with two features. We bask in the glory of being filtered by the Iranian Government (though reports tonight say that all WordPress-based sites are being filtered), and we have the text of Mehdi Karroubi's interview with CNN.

1950 GMT: Containing the Clerics (cont.). Now Basiji are reported to be outside the office of Saeed Montazeri, the son of the late Grand Ayatollah Montazeri.

There is also claimed video of a hostile crowd, with one making a fiery speech criticising opposition figures, outside Ayatollah Sane'i's home, which Mehdi Karroubi reportedly visited.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyIzdSgkb5Q&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

NEW Iran Document: Karroubi “Greens Stronger & More Mature Than Last Year” (12 June)
NEW Iran Special: EA Gets Highest Award from Tehran Government!
NEW Iran: The US State Department’s Comment on the Election Anniversary
NEW Iran Result: The 22 Khordaad Cup “Greens 1, Darks 0″ (Lucas)
Iran Analysis: 22 Khordaad — What Happened and What It Means (Shahryar)
Latest Iran Video: Protests of 22 Khordaad (12 June)
Iran: Not Forgetting 22 Khordaad “The Day We Chose to Live” (Pedestrian)
The Latest from Iran (12 June): 22 Khordaad

1640 GMT: Containing the Cleric. Kalemeh reports that Grand Ayatollah Sane'i's home in Qom was surrounded by Basiji militia. The plainclothesmen chanted slogans against Sane'i  and Mehdi Karroubi, who was visiting a memorial service in the city.

Karroubi's son said his father's car was badly damaged by the militia.

1630 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Azad University student activist Salman Sima was seized by plainclothes agents on Enghelab Avenue and taken to an unknown location.

Sima was also arrested in November 2009 and spent nearly 100 days in detention.

Kourosh Jannati, an Allameh Tabatabei University literature student, was arrested after reporting to the university’s security office. Aptin Pegah and Babak Ghiyasi, both Razi University students, were arrested in Kermanshah after a campus rally.

1625 GMT: The Battle Within. So we asked in the item below, "Establishment stalwart Abdolhossein Ruholamini may have defended the Supreme Leader, but what of the Government?"

Let's have a look at the answer:

The remarkable participation of people in support of the system on various occasions should not be construed as a pretext to conceal the inefficiency and incompetence of some state officials, [Ruholamnini] underlined.

Last year “I deemed it appropriate that president Ahmadinejad would not stay in the office…. At the time I was supporting another candidate and I believed that he was qualified and competent to become the next president, Ruholamini stated.

Ruholamini criticized the performance of the national TV prior and after the election in supporting a particular candidate.

Such performance gave rise to the belief among the public that the national TV is taking side, thus the root cause of some regrettable events after the election could be attributed to such impartial performance, he added.

Without providing a “tranquil environment” in the society based on “reason and understanding” it would be impossible to properly run the country, he explained.

Unfortunately a group of people who claim to support the principlist axioms has totally ignored moral principles and in order to harm their rivals resort to any immoral means, he lamented.

Under such environment, it is noticed that critics and those who are serving the system are removed from their duties under different pretexts.

“I should say that such an approach is not an appropriate strategy to resolve problems,” he added.

1500 GMT: The Kahrizak Legacy. Abdolhossein Ruholamini, the campaign manager for Presidential candidate Mohsen Rezaei and the father of slain detainee Mohsen Ruholamini, has made an interesting manoeuvre in Khabar Online.

Ruholamini has declared that he is certain the Supreme Leader cares for the injured protesters. Fair enough --- Ayatollah Khamenei is covered.

But if the Supreme Leader is not to blame, what of the Government?

1400 GMT: US Puts Out Line on Human Rights. I'm not sure how we missed this yesterday....

The State Department has put out the strongest American statement on human rights in Iran since June 2009, calling for "the immediate release of all imprisoned human rights defenders" (and listing some of them by name).

We've posted the text in a separate entry.

1315 GMT: How Many Were Arrested on 22 Khordaad? Rah-e-Sabz amidst reports on Mashhad, Najafabad, Sistan and Baluchestan, and Shiraz as well as Tehran, says more than 200 were arrested in the capital.

1235 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Activist Davoud Solemani has written an open letter to the Supreme Leader about "my interrogation with beatings and insults".

1225 GMT: How Many Were Arrested on 22 Khordaad? Human Rights Activists News Agency claim that more than 600 men and 300 women were detained at some point yesterday.

1145 GMT: Economy Watch --- All is Well Edition. Central Bank Governor Mahmud Bahmani has put out the message, "Iran will pay a guaranteed 10 percent interest on foreign investment…the Central Bank and Economy Ministry will guarantee the return of the principal and capital profit."

1115 GMT: Journalist in Exile. The Guardian of London features an article by Saeed Kamali Dehghan, a reporter who fled Iran last summer, leaving his family behind.

0815 GMT: Rafsanjani Watch. Rah-e-Sabz, drawing from Iran Labor News Agency, claims that former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, speaking as chairman of the Expediency Council, condemned the heckling of Ayatollah Khomeini's grandson Seyed Hassan Khomeini at the 4 June ceremony commemorating the death of his grandfather.

0810 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Iran Labor Report summarises the recent arrests of labour activists. Reza Shahabi of the Tehran Bus Workers Union is the most recent detainee, picked up yesterday morning at work.

0805 GMT: And in Southeastern Iran. RAHANA reports, "On Saturday June 12, 2010, a silent demonstration and hunger strike ceremony was held at the University of Sistan and Baluchestan. About 1000 people attended this ceremony from different ethnic backgrounds, including Kurdish, Lor and Baluch....At the end of this gathering, students held a large human chain and announced they would hold another gathering in case any disciplinary verdicts was issued for them."

0755 GMT: 22 Khordaad Around the World. While our attention was on the day inside Iran, rallies in more than 80 cities outside the country marked the anniversary of the election. Rah-e-Sabz summarises 28 events. A human chain was forged in Paris:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joWm9C98ZUc&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

There's video from Berlin:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc4xeZqaafU&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

And a picture from London:



0730 GMT: After the events of 22 Khordaad yesterday, which seemed to indicate that there are no conclusions --- just an ongoing political battle --- we offer two analyses: Josh Shahryar reviews the day, "What Happened and What It Means", while Scott Lucas takes his eyes from football's World Cup to blow an interim whistle and declares, "Greens 1, Darks 0".

We also offer a musical moment which may or may not have some relevance.

The Latest from Iran (10 June): Mousavi-Karroubi Withdraw Request to March

1950 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Iran Focus reports that activist Mehdi Farahi Shandiz was detained on Wednesday.

1900 GMT: Tonight's Rooftop "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great) and "Marg Bar Dictator" (Death to the Dictator) Chants:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqqqbdY0Yso[/youtube]

NEW Iran Urgent: Mousavi-Karroubi Statement on 22 Khordaad Protest (10 June)
NEW Iran Interview: Ahmad Batebi “People’s Movement Will Stay Alive with Knowledge and Information”
NEW Iran Document: Karroubi “In the End, the Wiser Ones Will Take Over Iran” (9 June)
Latest Iran Video: Obama Statement on Sanctions…and Rights (9 June)
Iran Analysis: What’s Most Important Today? (Hint: Not Sanctions)
Iran Analysis: 4 June “The Day the Regime Will Regret” (Verde)
The Latest from Iran (9 June): Paying Attention

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj3IAX369J0&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

1450 GMT: We have posted the English text of the Mousavi-Karroubi statement.

Dissected News evaluates:

"One way to look at this move by Moussavi and Karroubi is that they did the only thing they could. Neither leader can risk being arrested and having no legitimate and legal means to pursue reform. As was alluded to in the official statement, if large numbers of protesters show up for a rally that has been called off, it will appear as though the Green Movement is larger than its public leadership (this is true, anyway). If few numbers show up, then the Green Movement will still be able to say that the absence of large numbers was due to the backing off of the leaders of the movement."

1355 GMT: 22 Khordaad. Agence France Presse have picked up on the Mousavi-Karroubi statement, "Iran opposition leaders call off demos for vote anniversary".

1340 GMT: It's Official: Green Movement Bigger Threat than Saddam. The head of the Revolutionary Guard, General Mohammad Ali Jafari has pronounced, "Although last year's sedition did not last more than around eight months, it was much more dangerous than the imposed war which Saddam began against us through the support of the international community."

Jafari continued, "Because of the grace of God and the prophet-like guidance of the supreme leader and people's vigilance, we put this bitter incident behind us and the enemies found out the revolution cannot be diverted through these methods."

1230 GMT: New Mousavi-Karroubi Statement. As we still await the final word from the Ministry of Interior on requests for permits to march on 12 June, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi have issued another statement, via both Karrroubi's Saham News and Mousavi's Kalemeh. In view of the threat to people's safety, they are withdrawing their request to march; however, they note the turnout on 25 Khordaad (15 June) last year, which was also in an "undeclared" protest. They continue, "In the great nation of Iran, it is not possible to block people on the way they have chosen and their creative role in making this path will appear....It is simplistic to think you can suppress the opposition with lies, threats, and humiliation."

1000 GMT: 22 Khordaad MediaFail. Reuters puts in an early candidate for worst pre-12 June "analysis": "Iran's Reformers Discouraged a Year after Vote".

On the basis of interviews with four --- count 'em, four --- Iranians, the comment of a political scientist, and an absence of any consideration of the latest developments in the political situation, the article assures us, "A year after Iran's disputed presidential vote, hardliners are firmly back in charge of a country where economic challenges and the nuclear dispute with the West now loom larger than a once-vibrant reform movement."

0843 GMT: Labour Front. Peyke Iran claims Saeed Torabian, the spokesman for Tehran bus workers, has been assaulted at home and taken away by security forces.

0839 GMT: Blood Money Will Make It All Go Away. Fereshteh Ghazi, speaking with the families of those killed in the post-election crisis reports: "Rather than conducting investigations to identify those who ordered and carried out the murder of protesters, the Iranian government has been pressuring the families of murdered protesters to forego holding memorials for their loved ones. One family member was told that “because the murderer was not identified, the case has been sent to the implementation division for payment of blood money from the public budget.”

0835 GMT: The Detained Journalists. More information on the status of imprisoned reporters and editors: a new list from the Committee to Protect Journalists has 37 currently imprisoned, but Reporters and Human Rights Activists of Iran counts 47 in jail, e.g.. Sousan Mohammadkhani Ghiasvand from Kurdistan, who does not appear on the CPJ list.

0830 GMT: A Solution. Rah-e-Sabz posts a long analysis from the Council of National-Religious Activists and its suggestion of five ways out of the crisis: 1) a free and protected rally on 22 Khordaad/12 June; 2) release of political prisoners and an end to executions; 3) restoring the political freedoms laid down in Constitution to the Iranian people, especially freedom of assembly, speech, and media; 4) an end to restrictions on political parties, non-governmental organisations and human rights organisations; 5) correction of election laws and free elections under impartial supervision.

0820 GMT: Larijani v. Ahmadinejad. Despite the attempts by the Supreme Leader to referee the Parliament's dispute with the President, Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani presses on. At a lecture, Larijani warned, "If legislative and judiciary branches become subordinated to executive branch, it might accelerate the process of following [the President's] plans. But it would lead to dictatorship." Larijani continued, playing up to Ayatollah Khamenei and putting down Ahmadinejad:

Centralization of the Supreme leader's power won't lead to corruption since the leader should possess special qualifications which are not taken into account when the parliament speaker and the president are elected. Therefore the executive branch must adhere to the laws defining its authority. The government is not allowed to interfere with the duties of the legislative branch and disagree what passed by the Majlis.

Khabar Online also features the statement of Larijani ally, MP Ahmad Tavakoli: "Although in observing the bills, the Majlis may not be flawless, the government is not authorized to disobey the laws ratified by the legislative branch. Even if the statesmen believe that a law can not be executed, they should formally request the Majlis to revoke that and help the lawmakers to ratify the bills with the least amount of mistakes."

0815 GMT: 4 June Follow-Up "The Shadow Man". Earlier this week, Mohammad Ali Ansari, the coordinator of the commemoration for Ayatollah Khomeini last Friday, wrote Seyed Hassan Khomeini about the disruption of the event with the heckling of Hassan Khomeini's speech. Ansari mentioned, amidst discussion of possible organisation of the sabotage, a "Commander Vahid".

Rooz Online does some investigating to find out who Commander Vahid is and how he might be connected to the Supreme Leader.

0733 GMT: 22 Khordaad. The number of cities around the world holding rallies on 12 June is now 79.

0723 GMT: Rafsanjani Trashes the Election (and Criticises the Supreme Leader)? Yesterday we passed on reports that the office of Hashemi Rafsanjani had put out a tough letter denouncing President Ahmadinejad's behaviour over the election and challenging Ayatollah Khamenei for remaining silent on the issue.

We've had a look at the letter on Rafsanjani's website and, despite the former President's normal caution, it seems quite challenging. Could it be that Rafsanjani, just before 22 Khordaad (12 June), is going to make a public stand against the President --- and ask the Supreme Leader to make a stand as well?

0720 GMT: Hanging Judges. Omid Memarian profiles "hardline" judges --- Abolghasem Salavati, Mohammad Moghiseh, and Pir-Abbasi --- of the Revolutionary Court.

0710 GMT: Winning With Information. We have posted an interview with activist Ahmad Batebi, "The People's Movement Will Stay Alive with Knowledge and Information".

0625 GMT: Larijani Strikes A Nuclear Pose. He may be at odds with President Ahmadinejad on political issues, but Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani is making sure he's alongside the Government in defiance of the latest UN sanctions on Iran's nuclear programme.

Larijani said at a press conference, "We are regretful that the US is playing a naive game in New York these days," adding that this game was being led by the "Zionist lobby".
0615 GMT: No More Nedas? Rumour of the day comes from The New York Times, citing a pro-Government website:

A factory in Iran has been closed down after trying to mass produce statuettes of people who were killed in the protests that followed last year’s disputed presidential election, among them, Neda Agha-Soltan....

The pro-government Aty News Web site, reported on Wednesday that the factory, located in the eastern province of Semnan, was shuttered after just one month, though officials denied the closure.

The Web site....also states that the factory’s 40 female employees were discovered working without hejabs...and that they were mixing freely with the male members of the staff.

0545 GMT: 22 Khordaad. Yet another invitation to show up on 12 June comes from the students of Azad University of Tehran.

0530 GMT: First, a reminder of Iran just over 48 hours before the anniversary of the elections --- last night's rooftop Allahu Akhbars (God is Great):

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B073FkNZdDQ&playnext_from=TL&videos=4udYKWS5xNc[/youtube]

We have also posted yet another interview by Mehdi Karroubi in the run-up to 12 June. He reviews the development of Iran from the Revolution to today and, despite much pessimism, asserts, "In The End, The Wiser Ones Will Take Over Iran".

Of course, the headline story in non-Iranian media is yesterday's UN Security Council resolution for a new set of sanctions on Tehran. Even that, however, could not completely escape the internal situation in Iran: we have posted the video of President Obama's comments, with his reference to the "repression" of the Iranian people, and a snap analysis in yesterday's updates.

Dave Siavashi of Iran News Now evaluates the developments and puts out this warning: "The sanctions lend an air of legitimacy to the regime’s claim that nefarious outside forces, or Doshman (the all encompassing enemy), as [Ayatollah] Khamenei likes to refer to them, have it in for Iran; thereby giving the hardcore Islamist radicals of the regime a pretext and excuse for continued harsh repression of the opposition."